Neo-Pokemon Rust P1
by Pippastrelle
Summary: *This is the redraft of Pokemon Rust on my own account BTW* 22 years has taken it's toll on the pokemon world. Johto has been devastated and society has fallen to gang rule after the war but a single message on a pokegear changed Steel's life forever and it started with a simple question: "Are you a boy or a girl?" *Rated T for blood and death*
1. Prologue

Falkner couldn't believe it. All the respect he'd had for his former colleagues had dissipated and become anger. They were fools. He hated them. He hated them so much for prolonging the war. Everyone knew Tohjo would eventually win but to him...they'd already lost.

Too many were gone: his father, Surge, Pryce, Lance and more citizens than he could name. Falkner loathed that region so he made a promise. It was what his father would want him to do, to bring storms to the region of islands, and he _could_ do it. The guardians were flying-types after all and possessed the power to stop Tohjo's suffering, and maybe the power to end his.

It would not just be vengeance. It would be justice. Ice, lightning and fire would rain down on Tohjo's enemies and he would be a saviour. Falkner knew that it wouldn't resurrect the dead but he felt that it would at least allow them to rest in peace.

Falkner stood at the edge of the field of cinders that used to be full of golden trees and in between the two burnt towers as he awaited the two legendaries. Surely they would answer his call; it was for the sake of Johto.

The air was still in anticipation but the sky was grim and grey. Ecruteak City was now a ghost town but even then all the spiritual energy had left with that coward Morty, leaving nothing but a lonely husk in the stead of a once cheerful place.

Falkner spared a moment and looked over to the abandoned gym. The ghost-type specialist had yearned for the League to surrender, to hide from the looming tragedy, but they'd all dismissed him. They'd been too determined to win but Falkner knew that Morty's warning had cemented itself into the mind every member, no-one could fully ignore the seer's premonitions.

Blue hair fell over Falkner's enraged eyes and his hands clutched his black coat. He turned in defiance and repeated the names of the dead therapeutically under his breath to remind him of what he was striving for.

He whispered their names to himself, "Father, Lance, Pryce..." but then he faltered. A strong wind had picked up and whistled past him. The gusts grew in intensity and the air seemed to be spiralling upwards. The sun was hidden by the smoky clouds but the creatures that flew down were even more radiant to Falkner's entranced eyes.

Every beat of Ho-oh and Lugia's wings sent blasts of air shooting through the empty streets and the trees quivered under the legendaries' sheer power. Falkner looked up and met their eyes. An understanding passed through the three of them and he laughed in honest joy at what he saw. If only his father was here.

The two let out magnificent cries and they, along with Falkner's triumphant laughter, filled the cold silence of Ecruteak City. He'd done it. He was going to end this infernal war and save Tohjo!

Falkner stepped forwards as Lugia and Ho-oh descended slowly, hovering above the ash-littered earth before the trainer.

"Ho-oh! Lugia! Mighty guardians of Johto and Kanto, together we'll end this war and save our people! Fire, lightning and ice will destroy Hoenn and we will unleash a storm that will never..." Somehow, amongst the howling winds and roaring legendaries, Falkner heard a van drive up to the city centre.

He wheeled around the air became thick with the rage felt by him and the Pokémon he'd connected with. The winds blew more ferociously and battered the vehicle but the gym leader stood adamantly in the wild gusts and glared at the man coming his way. He watched the driver shield his old face from the sharp rushes while his white lab coat and greying hair billowed violently as he exited his van.

"Falkner, you must stop this madness at once! Think about what this would mean for our world!" the professor shouted above the rising storm.

"Samuel! How dare you try stop me!" Falkner bellowed, "I thought after Pryce and Lance you'd _want_ this war to end!"

Professor Oak's face was distraught as he met Falkner's furious blue eyes, "Of course I want the war to end, but utter destruction is _never_ the answer!"

Two others had exited the van and ran forwards to Oak's side. Falkner's face twitched angrily in recognition as the two young women stopped at the sight of the two flying-types hovering powerfully behind him. They both wore coats that covered their iconic outfits but Whitney's pink bunches and Janine's purple spikes were all too visible.

"Falkner, please don't do this!" Whitney cried, her tears being blown away in the savage winds.

"We were all hurt but this can't be the answer. This won't end in victory for _any_ side!" Janine joined the pleading but it all fell on deaf ears. The Pokémon behind Falkner, with the power flaps of their wings stirring up the storm, stood there as his motivation and his bereavement stood as his protection, so their voices couldn't penetrate his heart.

"I'm not backing down! Not when I'm so close to finishing this once and for all. I've lost too much to give up at this point!" his voice cracked with emotion on the final sentence so he tore his eyes away from Janine and Whitney's faces of despair.

He focused on Oak and glared at the researcher with unbelievable venom, "I always knew you'd betray us." Falkner spat then he turned his back of the three of them. He looked up determinedly to the legendary Pokémon.

"Unleash your full power on Hoenn!" he commanded, "Fulfil your duties as guardians and avenge the fallen of Tohjo!"

Ho-oh and Lugia rose formidably and fear consumed Whitney and Professor Oak. They trembled as horrific images of their future flooded their mind, unable to do anything but watch in terror, but Janine furrowed her eyebrows together in anger.

The death of Falkner's father had unhinged him more than she or anyone had realised. With Whitney and Oak frozen in fear, only she and her training to stay focused could save the thousands of people Falkner's plan would ultimately cost.

She fluidly reached inside the deep pockets of her black trousers and threw out her shuriken pokéballs. A venomoth, weezing, ariados, arbok and crobat appeared in silent metallic flashes unique to Janine and her father. "Sludge bomb! Toxic! Poison jab! Coil!" Janine ordered and the corresponding Pokémon attacked.

Venomoth, Crobat and Weezing darted towards the two Tohjo legendaries, blasting Ho-oh and Lugia with poison and turning the swirling air around them toxic. The rainbow and diving Pokémon looked down to the trainer that had summoned them to see what he wished for them to do but just as Falkner began to cry out lividly against his so-called friend's actions, Ariados and Arbok lunged at him.

He tried to flail and fight the two poison-types off but Arbok had wrapped its lavender-coloured, serpentine body around him, trapping his arms and making him unable to attack, while Ariados' forelegs glowed sickly purple and struck him rapidly.

Janine had stayed a small way away from the fight as she surveyed the scene stiffly. She'd clenched her fists in frustration and wanted nothing more than to close her eyes or run away but she forced herself to keep focused. She tried to keep her purple eyes locked on the two dangerous Pokémon before her but she couldn't help but look to her friend.

She stiffened. Janine's eyes were wide and haunted as Falkner's eyes met hers. Ariados' poison jab slammed into his stomach and he finally collapsed onto the cobblestone street but the phantom of that stare, full of unbelievable betrayal and loathing, lingered in her mind for much longer. For a moment that seemed to last years to the Fuchsia Gym leader, that gaze was all she could see.

The bird-like Pokémon roared terribly and the resulting blasts of air hurled all of Janine's Pokémon to the ground as if they were no heavier than leaves but the two legendaries had lost the connection that had brought them there. There was a great flash of blinding light and when Oak, Whitney and Janine's eyes readjusted Ho-oh and Lugia had both disappeared. The poison in the air clouded the returning breezes so the final wisps of power left by the two legendary Pokémon danced around like a bitter performance.

Oak was the first out of the three to move again. The small sounds of his movement seemed to resonate enormously in the still city as he dug his pokégear out of his lab coat's pocket and reluctantly called the champion. Falkner couldn't get away with this, even if his endeavour had been a failure.

Every one of the researcher's movements was slow and seemed more suited to a machine than a human and when he spoke his voice was hollow. As he explained the situation over the device he looked to the city's only other occupants. Janine and Whitney's faces were grief-stricken. Whitney was crying and Janine had her hands clamped over her mouth as she repressed her own tears.

Another wave of guilt rushed over the Kanto professor. The call had been made but his hands were still shaking. The plateau had been the first straw but now he could hardly find any resolve left inside him. He no longer could convince himself that his actions behind the League's back were helping anyone.

* * *

The Indigo League had had no choice but to imprison Falkner for his attempts on the lives of everyone in Hoenn but the war had still raged on with great and numerous casualties on both sides. All wars inevitably end but the one between Tohjo and Hoenn had not ended with a victory for either region.

A stalemate had been reached. There weren't any options and neither side could surrender. Peace had failed and Hoenn had become desperate, it couldn't fight two regions simultaneously. Morty had been right and Tohjo was lost to the devastation brought about by the monsters of the sea and earth.

The number of deaths brought about on that one horrifying day was more than the war itself. Many good people lost their lives but many people were killed by the gangs rising to power. Anarchy had seeped into every city and every town yet there was nothing anyone could do about it.

And leading the onslaught, were the Zephyrs.

* * *

 **Hello and welcome to Pokémon Rust! I hope you enjoy this story but as a warning (in case you couldn't tell already) this is going to be a bit darker than most journeys through Johto you'll see.**

 **P.S. Tohjo is the continent of Johto and Kanto**

 **P.P.S. This is actually a redraft, I didn't steal Pokémon Rust, it is already mine. I just moved the neo-version to my own account.**


	2. Chapter 1

"Are you a boy or a girl?" the tinny professor asked through the crackling speakers of a clearly old pokégear.

Steel moved the small device away from his ear and glanced unsurely at the pokégear's screen. The pokégear was mainly grey but with orange and white decorations, the screen was lit up at the moment and the bottom screen was showing two options for him to press. A black one and two stood out on an orange background so he pressed the one, assuming it would respond to the first option.

There was a small burst of static and another message started up. Steel hurriedly held the pokégear back up to his ear, eager not to miss a word. He brushed his silvery-blue hair out of his face and began listening again.

"My name is Professor Samuel Oak. If you're listening to this message then that means someone serious may have happened concerning Tohjo or Hoenn in the war. I fear the war is becoming increasingly desperate and after seeing what some people _here_ have tried to do..." there was a forlorn sigh, "I'm worried that they may be attempting the same in Hoenn and neither Kanto nor Johto could survive an attack like that. My secret talks with Professor Birch have been nothing but troubling. Those two _cannot_ be unleashed or...Arceus save us all."

There was another pause in the recording but when it resumed Professor Oak sounded much more fragile. There were sounds like water churning and earth rumbling in the background, "They've done it! Those bastards did it!" Oak cried and Steel's brown eyes widened in shock at the sudden exclamation and increase in volume.

There was a choked attempt at a calming breath that rattled through the pokégear's speakers, "Tohjo isn't safe anymore. I have no idea what in the world any of us can do at this point, too many trainers from Johto and Kanto have died so Kanto and Johto won't have enough trainers or Pokémon to protect them. I just can't believe it, B..." The message cut off again and from then on his voice became very odd. The sounds of churning had disappeared but his voice sounded fragmented, like he was hesitant about what he was saying. Steel frowned but kept listening.

"Use this totodile. To Get through Johto. Get To the Indigo City. It's safe there. Professor Elm said...It's a... Young Pokémon but. It Will Help. There will be a lot of...Danger but. Good luck."

Steel spent a minute in wishful silence but it was clear by then that Professor Oak wasn't going to continue. Steel sighed but since there was so little reason for joy in his world, he was thrilled to find a grin overtaking his face.

The pokégear itself was light grey with a white pokéball-like designs and orange accents. There were two screens and on the bottom screen there was a small bar with four icons on a black bar. Steel went to the map, curious since he'd never seen a map of his home region before. He was scared to see how far away the Indigo Plateau was from Route 42, where he was standing, but the excited fire burning inside him could not be put out so easily.

Steel could barely contain himself as he unclipped the small red and white ball from the device. He couldn't remember having seen one before but he knew what it was. It was a pokéball! Steel pressed the small button on the middle line that went around the ball and yelped as a ping-pong-sized ball expanded into one like a tennis ball. Steel's face redden from his reaction despite there being no-one around and he was about to try and call out the Pokémon but then something drifted past his face.

The breeze that had just passed his face was recognisably thick and grey. Steel's eyes darted east towards the city at the end of the route and saw, to his horror, strands of the noxious fog that surrounded the place worming their way towards him.

He hurriedly stuffed the pokéball and pokégear inside the inner pocket of his navy blue jacket. Steel grabbed the goggles and light blue neckerchief from around his neck and pulled them up over his eyes, ears and mouth. The quickly placed strap made his straight hair bunch up oddly but he didn't have the time to worry about that.

He wheeled around and ran to the metal door embedded in the Mount Mortar cliff face. Steel pulled the door handle and it opened with surprising, almost eerie, silence for something of its weight and size. The teenager, however, did not to stop to marvel at this since he passed that door most weeks to get some fresh air and because he was in a rush.

The slam of the door closing echoed through the dark, empty caves of Mount Mortar where Steel and a few dozen others lived. Out of all the people there, Steel was one of the only ones who went outside on a regular basis, the poison outside being one of the main reasons why.

Small lanterns that hung from the high, rock ceiling lit up the inside of the mountain but the wide space was still enveloped in a veil of darkness. After spending his entire life in this dark, Steel could see perfectly well but any stranger would probably have to squint. That's why he was so shocked that he hadn't seen his dad on the way in.

It wasn't uncommon at all to see a worried expression pervading Ferro's face. His red hair had only recently begun to express any signs of greying but his age was clear through the lines and glasses on his face. He was swaying with one hand still gripping the doorframe but at the sight of his son Steel's dad pulled his son into a hug and talked in a long, incomprehensible string of worry.

Steel stepped away and pulled down his mask so his smile could be revealed to his dad. Ferro smiled weakly in return but his eyes were darting towards their 'house'. It was just another door out of the dozens in the high cave walls and nothing but two connecting squares cut out of the mountain but it was what Steel had always called home.

Ferro reached out for his son's wrist distractedly but immediately retracted his hand at the sound of Steel wincing at the pain. Most of Steel's left arm was wrapped in bandages and his dad had accidently grabbed the injured part.

"Sorry." Ferro said quickly before shepherding his son through the door, always nervous about when either of them had to leave for more than a moment.

Their 'house' wasn't very fancy, to say the least. There was a large carpet covering the uneven floor but it wasn't quite large enough to reach each wall. A small fire was always crackling inconspicuously in the small alcove dug into the wall to light and heat the room but there was still a pile of blankets and pillow neatly folded in one of the corners for the nights or especially cold days.

Two small landscape paintings were hung on the walls in an attempt to make the room feel less like a cave but sadly, it only resulted in two very lonely-looking frames depicting places Steel had never seen. There was a chest of drawers containing food and their few possessions that seemed to always be tilting no matter how Steel looked at it and another wooden door that led to the smaller, spare room. It was used mainly for storage now but since they didn't have much as it is, it was left an empty room.

Life in Mount Mortar was very boring and hard. The people inside were too scared to venture outside so even when they met up Steel felt there was rarely anything of importance anyone could say. The community they had was very close and definitely friendly but the only thing they ever seemed to do was survive.

Steel sat down and rubbed his bandaged arm gently, since it was still very painful, while his dad closed the door behind him. The teenager grinned to himself as something occurred to him. If what Professor Oak said was true then he could change all of that for his dad and him.

"…Miller said he's going to make some cake tomorrow so that'll be a treat, but for now all we have are the berries and some rice. We'll have to have the bread for breakfast though; it'll be a bit stale but…" Steel's dad kept making idle conversation about what they had to eat as if they had any options in the first place.

While his dad was digging through the top cupboard, Steel dug the pokéball out of his jacket pocket. He wanted to see what a totodile looked like but he hesitated. Steel spun the ball around in his hands and looked at it with a confused expression. He'd never seen a pokéball, or a Pokémon for that matter, so he wasn't sure of how to use one. The button looked like a place to start so he pressed it experimentally.

Both Steel and Ferro jumped at the metallic popping sound and the bright flash. Steel's dad spun around to see what had happened then leapt backwards, the dread on his face instantly turning to horror. He clenched his eyes shut and muttered something to himself, hoping that the thing in front of him was nothing more than a nightmare.

But it wasn't. Steel watched in awe as a two foot tall, blue lizard-like Pokémon appeared before him. It had a pale yellow, arrow-like patch running across its chest and bright red eyes that darted around its surroundings excitedly. It had a long snout and sharp, white fangs jutted out from under its lips. Red spikes ran down the back of its neck all the way down to the end of its tail and it waved one of its clawed, scaly hands at Steel.

Steel couldn't understand it. _This_ was the main reason why no-one in Mount Mortar went outside? So many of his dad's generation were terrified of Pokémon but all that Steel felt was curiosity and excitement at the prospect of meeting more cute creatures like the totodile outside.

"St-Steel! W-w-why the he...heck is that _thing_ here?!" Ferro stammered, breaking Steel out of his spell so his focus snapped back to his dad. His red hair seemed to be on end with fright. The totodile had been quacking happily but after Steel's dad's outburst it seemed to understand that the older human was afraid of it so it stopped.

"I found a pokéball outside and it had..." Steel paused. He looked down curiously at the totodile and chuckled to himself, "Oh yeah...You don't have a name yet. I guess I can't name you if I don't know whether you're a boy or girl." Steel crouched down and met the totodile's red eyes.

"Are you a boy?" Steel asked in a slow, clear voice but the totodile didn't react. It gave him a confused look so Steel continued, "So, you're a girl?" The blue Pokémon yipped happily and Steel smiled at her. He was a bit disappointed he couldn't name her Tyrone but he was still happy for her to be there with him.

Steel's eyes flickered up in thought as he went through all the female names in his head, glancing down to the totodile to check her response as he listed them, "Lin? Jenny? Vivian?" he concentrated hard to remember the name, "Kara...?" he asked hopefully but she didn't seem to like it. Steel sighed, "Um...How many other names do I know...? Er...Brooke?"

The totodile grinned then danced happily at the last name, "Brooke the totodile it is, then." Steel smiled.

"Steel..." his dad began again and Steel's smile shrank. Ferro wrenched one brown eye open so he could look to his son, "Wh-why...is that...monster here?"

Steel dug inside his pocket again and presented the pokégear to his dad, "Brooke's pokéball was attached to this pokégear. There was a message on it from Professor Oak about a safe..." Steel stopped himself. Ferro's expression had become hollow at the mention of Professor Oak and Steel had choked on the words.

Steel's dad had been the one who'd told him of Professor Oak but Steel should have realised that he would have died. He'd been old _before_ the war started; no-one at his age could have survived the flooding and earthquakes.

"He told me of a safe city at the Indigo Plateau. He gave me Brooke to help us travel there safely."

There was silence. The room was quiet except for the fire dying in the alcove while Steel's dad thought.

"I can't go with you." he said sadly.

Steel's expression fell, "What...? Why? Brooke can protect the two of us so..."

"I'm too old to do that, Steel. I can't go outside into the awful world out there. I can't even think about all the Pokémon..." he shuddered but then looked back to his son with an uncommon look of determination, "But I know _you_ have the ability to do it. You're your mum's son after all."

Steel knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. His dad almost _never_ mentioned his mum, not since she left when he was young. The reference felt odd but reminded Steel strangely of something. But Steel put that to the side, it being one of the lesser problems in his dad's statement.

"I...I can't do..."

Steel's dad was having none of it. He forced a smile despite the Pokémon in his presence, "Don't be sad about this on my behalf. I can't go out but I'm fine staying here in Mount Mortar. _You_ deserve to live a fulfilled life, and I know you'll be able to get to wherever you want to go. You definitely have to willpower for it." Ferro stepped forwards and hugged his son, trying to ignore Brooke.

"Dad?" Steel wondered, hugging him back but still feeling confused. Tears began welling up in his eyes but when his dad held him at an arm's length, Steel saw nothing but pride and determination in the adult's identically, warm brown eyes.

This was something Steel had never seen in his dad before. It was true that he'd always wanted for the two of them to get out of Mount Mortar but he'd never expected for his dad to be so motivated about him getting out.

Ferro even managed to ignore Brooke, who'd resolved herself to sitting patiently in the corner, since Steel still had zero idea of how to get her back in the pokéball, while Ferro packed some supplies for his son.

There weren't many rules in their house but Steel had always respected his dad's privacy so he hadn't really seen everything they owned, even in such a small room for a house. His dad had given him a decently sized black back-pack with spare clothes, some food and water and even some pokédollars. Steel's dad had given it to him in case they still used it as currency outside Mount Mortar. They had no use for it in the mountain since everyone just worked together.

It _was_ only a short amount of time but it still seemed far too soon before Steel found himself outside. It was strange. With Brooke by his side and the winds rustling in his ears there was no denying, not that he would want to, that it was all a dream.

This was real. He was outside Mount Mortar. He was...free.

* * *

 **And Steel's journey through Johto can now commence!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did or didn't you can review to comment on the story! :D**


End file.
